


The signing of the peace treaty

by Aryalaenkha



Series: Until Dawn [28]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-05
Updated: 2021-01-05
Packaged: 2021-03-15 23:36:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,044
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28572384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aryalaenkha/pseuds/Aryalaenkha
Summary: Take place:M.E. 756 (May 16th)
Series: Until Dawn [28]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2090427





	The signing of the peace treaty

**Author's Note:**

> **Take place:** M.E. 756 (May 16th)

Death. Smoke. Darkness. Another nightmare. Another vision. One or the other, it was all the same. Because of this, Aurora woke up with a start in the middle of the night and couldn’t get back to sleep.

As her father had asked her the day before, Aurora had returned to her quarters after breakfast, escorted by two Glaives. She would have really preferred it to be Nyx or Pelna. She knew them well, trusted them and would have felt more reassured. But they were assigned to other positions for that particular day and she, unfortunately, had to deal with it.

Now alone in the room, the Princess changed her clothes. She took off her sheath dress and pumps, which were there just to make a good impression if she met the members of the Niflheim delegation, and put on her Kingsglaive’s uniform and boots. Prepare to run away. That’s what she was about to do. As the minutes passed, her anxiety increased. She would pace up and down, going to the door to listen to the guards, trying to pick up bits of their conversation, then going to the large windows and looking at the crowd gathered at the foot of the Citadel. As she turned her head, her eyes rested on her wedding dress. She approached the mannequin on which it was and slowly passed her fingers over the fabric while whispering to herself.

— In the end, I may never wear you…

Suddenly, an explosion, panic cries outside and then a strong vibration. Surprised, Aurora turned her attention back to the window and saw the Wall, that her father held on to thanks to the Ring of the Lucii, falling. Then a violent headache caught her. She put her hand to her temple, refraining from screaming. A vision. One of the Divine Crystal being stolen. It was like a cry for help, and she couldn’t ignore it. As she came to her senses, the door to her room opened in a crash.

— Your Highness, the Citadel is under attack! Come with us! We’ll get you to a safe place!

The Glaive that had just spoken to her froze with an expression of horror on his face, lowered his head and put his hand to his abdomen. Then he looked at his bloody hand for a brief moment before collapsing to the ground. Shocked, the Princess looked up at the second Glaive that was standing guard and had just shot down his comrade without the slightest scruples.

— You will kindly follow me, Princess. The Nif will be delighted to welcome you to their home.

Aurora frowned.

— I’d rather die than fall into their hands.

— If you don’t give me a choice…

The man rushed to attack her, but the young woman, having acquired excellent reflexes thanks to her many trainings, had no trouble dodging his blow. As he prepared to counterattack, she warped behind him, tripped him to get him down on his knees, and came to put her arms around his neck to suffocate him.

— If there is one thing I can’t stand, it’s traitors…

He put his hands on her forearm and bent over to tip her forward. But just when he thought he could disable her by knocking out of the way with the knob of his dagger, he opened his eyes, feeling the blade that Aurora had just summoned, which had stuck in his stomach. He slipped to his side, dying, as she straightened up and looked in turn at her bloody dagger and the bodies of the Glaives lying on the floor of her room. She had just killed someone for the first time. But time being limited, she left the room with a last look and headed towards the elevators to go to the Crystal. But as she passed in front of one of the windows, something caught her attention on the outside and made her stop her run. She saw the adamantium cage, which was in the vault, hanging from a Niflheim airship leaving the city. It was too late now. Suddenly, her thoughts turned to her father. Was he safe? Or was he still there? Concerned and uncertain, she turned around and walked down another corridor to the room where the peace treaty was to be signed. But as she was about to turn at a fork, she heard footsteps and voices.

— Get the Princess! The High Commander wants her alive!

Aurora whispered a swear word, clenching her jaws and frowning. With a dagger movement, she used royal magic to make herself invisible just in time to avoid detection. Once the group of men had moved away, the young woman continued on to the Council room.

When she arrived on the spot, she froze for a brief moment. So many corpses lay on the floor. She saw Clarus in the distance, pinned by his own sword, Ravus screaming in pain because of his burning arm, Lunafreya supporting the King of Lucis, visibly wounded, heading towards one of the walls of the room and Nyx facing General Glauca. Aurora threw her dagger to quickly teleport to her father and helped the Oracle to make him walk. Regis turned his head towards his daughter, relieved to see her alive, but worried that she was still here.

— But what are you still doing here? You were supposed to join the Amicitias…

— Some Glaives turned around and I had to improvise.

He briefly squinted as he looked at her and nodded. He opened the door with royal magic, revealing a hidden elevator. All three entered inside it and Nyx teleported just in time before the doors closed.

During the descent, as Lunafreya bandaged his hand with a piece of her dress that she had just ripped, Regis addressed them.

— This leads to a hidden passageway. Follow it. Once you are away, make for Altissia. Noctis awaits you there.

— Your Majesty.

Aurora looked away as Nyx looked at her, realizing that she was in combat gear and visibly ready to flee, then turned his attention back to his King.

— You knew this was coming…

— Yes. But it was the only way to draw their wrath from Noctis.

— Is that the way of our king? Sacrifice Lucian sons to save his own?

— To save the world.

— See Aurora and Luna safely to Altissia. This is not an order from a king to his Glaive. This is a plea from one man to another. Please, Nyx Ulric, keep them safe. For the future of all.

— The future?

The elevator shaft moved and everyone looked up at the ceiling, suspecting that the hidden door was being forced a little higher. Regis turned to his daughter with a serious look and handed her the Ring of the Lucii.

— Here. Take this. It is time it passed to another’s keeping.

Aurora imperceptibly squinted, taking the divine jewel that her father held out to her reluctantly. She didn’t like the tone of his voice or even the meaningful look on his face. She remembered their discussion the day before… that some might lose their lives… and understood that he was probably one of them. She looked at him sadly, closed her eyes painfully and nodded in response.

Once the elevator arrived in the basement of the Citadel, they discovered a beautifully decorated room with many inscriptions relating to the Cosmogony and the history of the Lucii lineage as well as the hidden passageway leading to the garages. But as they walked towards the exit, Regis stopped, looking at Aurora and Lunafreya with a touch of sadness. He raised his hand and made a crystalline wall appear so that the three young people could not go back.

— Dad, no! Don’t do that!

— Please, don’t leave us!

Regis took inspiration and addressed Lunafreya.

— I know your mother would wish the same as me. That you and Noctis live happily. All those years captive because I failed you. Not again. Locked doors will seal your fate no longer.

Then he turned his eyes to Aurora.

— Keep looking after your brother like you always have.

He took a look back at the elevator, which was seriously starting to shake, before turning his attention to Nyx.

— Our hope goes with you now, Nyx Ulric. Godspeed.

But as the latter tried to drag the two women to the door behind them, General Glauca eventually joined them by jumping into the elevator shaft. After a brief bow as if to mark the end of their duel, he attacked Regis who pushed him back with a bolt of lightning, throwing him against one of the pillars of the circular room. Far from being weakened, he stood up, struggled and moved slowly towards him. With a gesture, he came to rotate him so that he could look one last time at those he loved before coming to deal the fatal blow to the King of Lucis.

— DAD!

Aurora rushed towards the crystalline wall screaming, hitting it with her fist as tears rose to her eyes. Lunafreya followed her closely, but Nyx tried to make them look away from the murder that was taking place in front of them, powerless. The Lucian Princess was frozen in fear, her eyes unable to leave those of her father. Glauca pushed Regis’ body without the slightest care, dropping him to the ground and lying in his own blood. But as the rage rose, the Oracle stopped the young woman from summoning one of her weapons and the Glaive, which was ready to strike the Imperial General.

— No. We must get away from here. It is what your king wanted. It is what your father wanted…

Nyx resigned himself, clenching his jaws and turned around to follow Lunafreya’s step towards the exit. But Aurora did not move, her hands still on the crystal wall. She didn’t want to abandon her father. She couldn’t do it. Noticing that she was not following them, the Glaive turned around taking a deep breath, grabbed the Princess’ wrist and dragged her with him by force.

— Get off me!

— No way. I swore to your father to get you out of here alive. I intend to keep my word.

She struggled slightly, her tears of pain mixed with rage rolling on her cheeks, but quickly resigned herself, unable to fight against her friend’s strength. She took one last look at her father, before running towards the garage. The latter, located under the foundations of the Citadel, was quite vertiginous in height. One could even see an imposing statue of one of the former Kings of Lucis kneeling. All three got into one of the cars, Nyx behind the wheel, and left the scene at full speed. On the way, he tried to contact the command, but without success. But as they were driving on one of the deserted highways, they were fired upon by a Niflheim airship.

Sitting in the passenger seat in the front of the car, Aurora saw Luche and Tredd on the deck and frowned.

— I’ll settle a score with them. I’ll meet you later.

The Princess turned around, grabbed the Oracle’s hand to give her the Ring of the Lucii. But as she opened the door, Nyx called out to her, holding her by her forearm.

— Your Highness, no! Take the wheel. I’ll do it.

— And what are you going to do? Warp you to reach them? May I remind you from whom the Glaives get their magic?

Nyx shook his head while scowling. She had a point. She pulled strongly on her arm to make him let go when suddenly a voice resounded behind the vehicle, that of Petra Fortis, the city’s head of security, who came to cover them so that they could continue their run. But a magitek engine jumped from another imperial airship, blocking their way, and led them out of the highway, breaking the safety railing.

After escaping a fatal fall of several meters and taking refuge for a moment in a building to escape their pursuers, Nyx received a call from Captain Drautos in his earpiece asking him to join him in Section D. But some daemons had followed in their footsteps thanks to Lunafreya’s hair clip, which was equipped with a transmitter. After getting rid of these creatures, Aurora helped Nyx with a leg injury to get to the meeting point.

Once there, the Glaive asked the two women to remain hidden until he could ensure the safety of the spot. But one shot was heard, then another. The Oracle rushed and the Lucian Princess tried to hold her back. Seeing that their attacker, who was none other than Luche, was approaching them, they tried to escape but quickly found themselves trapped on a dead end. As Aurora was about to summon one of her weapons to attack her former comrade, a new headache seized her, completely preventing her from reacting. Lunafreya tried to jump over the railing and the man took advantage of the Princess’ inability to stop her and tackled her against the gate behind her. Thanks to a good command of the language, the young blonde woman played with words and subtly encouraged the traitor to slip the Ring of the Lucii on his finger, which he did. But being far from worthy of its power, it consumed him. Feeling a hand on her shoulder, Aurora slowly regained her senses. Visions always tended to come at the worst possible time.

Then tires squealed and the two women rushed to the meeting point where they had left Nyx. General Glauca stood before them, sword in hand, claiming the Ring. In desperation, Lunafreya was about to put on the Ring, but the man on the ground stopped her.

— Plan on giving those kings a piece of your mind, princess? You got a destiny to take care of here, remember? Besides, didn’t anyone tell you? I’m the hero around here.

Aurora opened her eyes wide when she saw Nyx take the Ring of the Lucii from Lunafreya’s hands, ready to put it on his finger.

— Nyx, no!

She was going to stop him, knowing full well the price to pay for using the powers of the Old Kings when something caught her attention in her peripheral vision. She looked away and saw Drautos just in time ready to knock down his heavy sword on them. In a defensive reflex, the Lucian Princess interposed herself to protect the Glaive on the ground and the Oracle, putting her hands in front of her and making a protect appear thanks to her royal magic. She blocked his blow, not without difficulty, and stared at him, her features distorted by anger. How could he betray her father after all these years of serving him and fighting for the Lucis… 

— What’s the point of resisting, Princess? Your fate will be the same as your father’s. You can’t do anything against me.

— But I do.

Suddenly a lightning bolt appeared from behind Aurora, hitting the former Captain head-on, throwing him several meters away. She closed her eyes sadly and painfully, understanding very well what it meant.

— But… What have you done…

— What a hero had to do to help you save the world.

Nyx was well aware that he had just exchanged his life so that they could flee the city and that he could not honor the promise made to the late King earlier. Just like Aurora. He laid his hand on the Princess’ shoulder, looking her straight in the eyes. By this simple gesture, she understood the message he was trying to convey to her, without saying a word. He passed the torch to her, implicitly asking her to make sure that she took them to Altissia, safe and sound and that he trusted in her to do so. She lowered her head, sighed, a tear rolling on her cheek, and put her hand on his own, nodding gently. He gave her a little smile when she raised her head and turned to the others present.

— Libertus. Meet Lunafreya Nox Fleuret, or prince’s beloved bride-to-be. And she has the future of the world in her hands. Keep her safe, our princess too, get them out of Insomnia.

Nyx gave the Ring of the Lucii to the Oracle, let Libertus keep his dagger while he unhooked a small chain from his belt and gave it to Aurora.

— Take this. My sister gave it to me. It has always brought me luck. You’ll give it back to me when we meet again.

She took the present, held it tightly in her hands, knowing full well that this was a farewell and not a goodbye, while he smiled at her brotherly.

— Go ahead now.

Libertus invited the two young women to show in the car and they took the road to the exit of the city while Nyx covered their escape with the help of the Lucii. From her window, Aurora watched the Old Kings fight with a certain fascination when Glauca tried to stop the vehicle while it was moving. But with a sword, Somnus, the Founder of her lineage, came to clear the way and allowed them to reach the gate leading to the Leide area at first light. The Oracle and the Lucian Princess mingled with the crowd of Insomnians who had managed to escape from this hell and headed for Lestallum with the rest of the refugees.

Once outside the walls of Insomnia, Lunafreya and Aurora saw Umbra walking towards them, her notebook between its fangs. The Oracle picked it up, opened it, looking at the message Noctis had left her. At least he was safe. But as she was about to answer him, the Lucian Princess spoke.

— Luna… Please don’t tell Noct about me.

The Tenebraen lady bending her head, surprised by such a request.

— Why? It will reassure him, though, to know you were alive.

Aurora looked away at the city from which dark smoke was escaping, frowning imperceptibly, sighing softly.

— I know that… But I know my brother. If he were to find out, he would do everything to find me and risk turning away from his new priorities as King. As my father used to say… A lie is sometimes better than the truth…


End file.
